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“Year of the Woman 2018” will feature a full slate of exhibitions, lectures, tours and workshops with a focus on notable women artists of California and the Central Coast at the Monterey Museum of Art. (Carly Mayberry — Monterey Herald)

Monterey >> Changes are in store for the Monterey Museum of Art this year including a minor face lift to the gallery itself and an emphasis on exhibitions and artistic ventures by female creators.

At last week’s ribbon cutting, members of local chambers of commerce, the museum and the media sipped wine and nibbled on hors d’oeuvres while Executive Director Stuart A. Chase announced the full slate of exhibitions, lectures, tours and workshops with a focus on notable women artists of California and the Central Coast.

Titled “Year of the Woman 2018,” the exhibition schedule will include works from E. Charlton Fortune, a free-spirited early 20th century impressionist and Kim Campbell, an abstract impressionist to photography exhibitions by Jasmine Swope and others.

Chase said that the MMA has over 1,730 artists represented in its art collections and of those collections, only 20 percent are women artists. He also said it’s a percentage that’s typical for galleries in the state and across the country.

“It’s an unfortunate trend across the nation – they’ve just not been represented well in museums so that’s why we’re drawing attention to this issue.”

“What really resounded with me was that we need to have more women artists supported and show the work of more women artists,” said Laurie Bend, a small business owner of graphic design studio pageonedesign and a board member of the Arts Council for Monterey County, about what she learned from Chase’s comments. “This is just great to see the support for the arts. Being part of the Arts Council, we really know that arts is the answer.”

At last week’s ribbon cutting ceremony, Chase also addressed the museum’s upcoming renovations that will include the installation of new laminate flooring in its public spaces and painting of the interior spaces. The museum will be closed at its Pacific Street location from Feb. 5 to March 15.

“We’re trying to spruce up the museum for the year ahead,” said Chase. “We’re really excited about the ‘Year of the Woman’ and we want to put our best foot forward.”

Established in 1959, the museum is the only nationally accredited art museum between San Jose and Santa Barbara. The facility itself is owned by the city of Monterey and under a long term lease to the museum.

For more information about the museum’s upcoming exhibitions, programming and events, visit monteryart.org